Coupon Queen interview – get the most out of couponing

My interview with Coupon Queen Emma Mumford is a good read (IMHO). She’s shared some cool tips on what to do to get the most out of coupons in a realistic way and why she started up the website Extreme Couponing and Deals UK.

Who are you?

I’m Emma Mumford also known as the Coupon Queen. I’m 20 from Dorset and been saving money to the extreme for well over a year now! I had a large stockpile which I’m ever so proud of and have won awards such as ‘Best Young Start Up Business of 2014′ by Young Web Builder & ‘Money Saving Inspiration of 2014′ by Gift Shuffle.

What is Extreme Couponing and Deals UK?

It’s a Facebook page I started up last September to help everyone across the UK to save money on their weekly grocery shopping, also to teach people how to find bargains and explore interesting new ways to save money. Since launching last year the response have been overwhelming with over 55k followers now it’s so heartwarming to know I am helping so many people in today’s tough financial climate. We launched excoupuk.com in June and being the first UK Couponing website feels great and has already become really successful.

Many people don’t have time for couponing – what’s the quickest way to do realistic couponing rather than extreme couponing?

I guess the most realistic way is setting yourself up so sign up to loyalty schemes they are great. I can’t tell you how many freebies I get from Boots, Superdrug and Tesco plus coupons on top. Newspapers will advertise coupons on the front so always keep an eye out when you’re passing. Regarding online coupons, the quickest way I can suggest is signing up to brands you use most often Facebook pages and they often will advertise coupons and freebies, and it will appear straight on your news feed. If you don’t want to do all the leg work then I have a great full list of current coupons on my website for people to simply click and print.

What should people do if they feel embarrassed about using coupons?

I suggest using them first and then evaluating if you still feel embarrassed after. I guarantee you will change your mind and use them more often. There used to be a real ‘cheap’ stigma attached to coupons which I feel is well and truly lifting now. I am certainly not ashamed to whack out my coupon wallet.

What’s the biggest amount you’ve saved using coupons?

My biggest grocery shop saving using coupons was £156 and in the end even paid me +6p out of the till as I was under!

What are your five top tips for people who are new to couponing?

Stay Organised

Many people say that Couponing takes time and effort so many people don’t bother. The key is stay organised once you are it really is that simple! Keeping up to date with couponing websites like caringeveryday.co.uk and supersavvyme.co.uk are great also on my website I keep an up to date complete coupon list if you don’t want to do the leg work. You can also get coupons from magazines, newspapers and even in-store in monthly supermarket magazines.

Get Loyalty Cards

Nectar cards are great also Tesco Clubcard I get so many coupons weekly from them including the Price Promise one’s which are always a help. Stores like Boots and Superdrug also do loyalty cards which send out coupons quarterly as well as points to spend in store.

Write to Manufacturers

Another tip many are missing are complimenting manufactures for coupons. I often do it and have great success. Write a genuine compliment and even a mini review companies love it as its free market research and often will send coupons as a goodwill gesture. You will get Thank you emails with no coupons so just keep trying you will get them eventually. I have a full how to guide on my blog!

Know your Coupon T&Cs

The wording can sometimes be very confusing and most cashiers aren’t educated on the T&C’s so you need to be! Most say one per purchase which does NOT mean one per transaction or customer it means one per item so if you by two Colgate Toothpaste’s with two coupons that is okay. If it says on per person, household or transaction then you can only use once regardless of the quantity. If the value of the coupon i.e. £5 is higher than the product £4.50 then you have what I call Overage which means you have 50p more to spend on your shop!

Double Them Up

Many people think you can’t double up Coupons like in the USA but you really can! As long as the T&C’s are correct. For instance if I had a Tesco Clubcard coupon for £1 off Coca-Cola then I had another £1 Coupon from a magazine and a further £1 from the manufactures that means I would have a total of £3 to get off Coca Cola. So keep an eye out for coupons you never know when one might arise! I have binder which categorises all my coupons so I know exactly what I’m buying and which coupon to use it saves so much hassle at the checkout.

Related

6 Comments on this post

Ann - mum of three

September 1, 2014 at 9:25 am

Thanks for the tips - it's important to remember that coupons are like having money in your purse! We managed to find over £15 worth of Sainsbury's brand match coupons we'd forgotten to redeem and that's over 10% off our weekly shop - now we make sure we keep all the coupons with the shopping! And there's nothing more frustrating than paying full price for something when your friends are cashing in their money off vouchers! Will check your site out.

Mrs Bargain Hunter

I have always been a fan of coupons but agree that there used to be a stigma of cheapness around using them. Thankfully, nowadays, there are more in store than just me and the old dearies and dolees pulling out coupon books.